Rotary engine.



No. 62a oss. Patent 1 i .1. H. GARNER. ed u y 4 |899' ROTARY ENGINE.

(application med my s1, 189e.)

no magy.) 2 sheets-sheet l.

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Nm 628,086. Patanted luly 4, |899.

J. H. GARMER.

ROTARY ENGINE.

, Application mea my s1, 1898.5 glio Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

m: Ncmms Firms co.. mom-umn., wAsmNoTcu. u. t:v

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. GARNIER, OF TAMAQUA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEVI I. SOHREFFLER, OF SAME PLACE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,086, dated July 4, 1899. Application led May 31, 1898. -Serial No. 682,161. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH'H. GARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tamaqua, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary engines, and

has for its object to provide a simple, comro pact, and efficient construction and arrangement of parts particularly designed for avoiding back pressure in order that the maximum efficiency .of the mot-ive agent may be attained.

I Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. zo In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of an engine constructed'in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the operating-cam and cylinder-head omitted and showing the engine, partly in section, in a vertical plane at right angles to the axis of the piston. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same, taken in a plane parallel with the axis of the piston.A Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the abutments or resistance-valves. Fig. 3o 5 is a face view of one of the piston-wings.

Similar numerals of Areference indicate corresponding parts in allthe figures of the drawings.

Supported by a suitable base 1 orits equivalent is a cylinder 2, having heads 3, one of the heads being provided with a series of spaced exhaust-portsfl. The cylinder-Wall is channeled, as shown at 5, in communication with a steam-supply port 6, with which 4o communicates a supply-pipe 7, and communicating with said feed-channel 5 are feedports S, arranged, respectively, adjacent to the exhaustports and being controlled by cut-off valves 9 of the rocking type, which are suitably mounted in the cylinder wall and heads. The steam-chamber ofthe cylinder is of annular constructionl and is cross-sectionally rectangular, either square, as illustrated in the drawings, or-oblong when it is desired to increase the capacity of the chamber, and the piston comprises a spoked spider 10, having a rim 11, which closes the inner side of the steam-chamber, anda series of piston-wings 12, preferably of a less number than the feed- 5 5 ports 8, the construction illustrated in the drawings having four feed-ports and three piston-wings.A The piston-rim 11 is provided at each edge with a packing-ring 13 for contact with the contiguous inner surface of the 6o head of the cylinder t0 prevent leakage at the joint between the rim and the heads, and the piston-wings are provided with expansion packing-plates 14, having overlapping contiguous extremities and being designed for contact with the contiguous surfaces of the cylinder to prevent the pressure of the expansive motive agent from forcing its way in advance of the wing which is exposed to the pressure. The body portions of the pis- 7o ton-wings may be bolted, as shown at 15, to the rim of the piston, and the packing-plates in the construction illustrated are held in place by follower-plates 16, bolted to the body portion of the wing.

Swinging or pivotal abutments or resistance-valves 17 are mounted upon the cylinderwall to span the steam chamber and are adapted to be seated upon the surface of the piston-rim, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, spring- 8o actuated packing-strips 18 being provided in the edges of the abutments or resistancevalves to insure a steam-tight contact or seating of said edges, and the abutments are so positioned with relation to cavities 19, formed 8 5 in the Vinner surface of the-wall of the cylinder, as to provide for the folding of the abutments out of the path of the piston-wings, as also shown in Fig. 2, the feed-ports 8 communicating, respectively, with said cavities, 9o and hence being located in advance of the abutments, (when the latter are extended or in their normal position,) and the exhaustports 4 being located in rear of said abutments.

The length of each abutment is greater than the depth of the steam-chamber in which it operates, whereby when extended the abutment occupies an oblique position to cause the backward pressure of the steam to force loo the inner .end of the abutment into steamtight Contact with the inner wall of the steamchamber, while allowing said inner wall to rotate in the direction of movement of the piston-wings without undue friction. Furthermore, the inner edges of t-he abutments are preferably beveled, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, to insure the contact of t-he packingstrip with the surface of the rim 11, and the recesses or cavities 19, which receive the abutments when folded, have those walls which are remote from the spindles 20 beveled to accommodate the terminal packing-strips of the abut-ments. Thus if a terminal packingstrip extends beyond its normal position when the abutment is folded said strip will come in contact with the beveled wall of the cavity 19 and will be repressed.

The means which I have devised for mounting the abutments consist of spindles 20, journaled in the heads of the cylinder, and in order that said abutments may be folded. and extended at the proper intervals to receive the back pressure of the motive agent and withdraw from the path of the pistonwings I provide the spindles 20 with trip-arms 21, located outside of the cylinder and having slides or pins 22 to operate in a cam-groove 23, formed in the inner or adjacent surface of a cam-plate 24:, which is fixed to the piston shaft or spindle 25. Obviously other means for securing a synchronous rotary movement of the cam-plate and piston may be provided; but that construction which I have found to be eicient is the dire'ct attachment, as above described, of said plate to the piston-spindle. The slide or piu 22 is preferably provided with an antifriction-roll 2G to traverse said cam-groove in order that the f-riction may be reduced to the minimum. Furthermore, the cut-off valves 9 must be operated to out off the steam or other motive agent in advance of the tripping of the abutment and cut in the motive agent subsequent to the extension of the abutments to their operative positions, and I accomplish this operation by providing the spindles 27 of the cut-offs with trip-arms 28, having slides or pins 29, which traverse a cam-groove 30, also formed in the inner surface of the cam-plate 24, each offset portion of the groove 30 being arranged sufficiently in advance of the end of the adjacent offset portion of the cam-groove 23 to close each cut-off valve before the adjacent abutment is moved from its operative position.

Thus the operation of the mechanism is as follows: The steam or other motive agent continuously supplied to the steam-channel 5 is controlled at each feed-port by a rocking cut-off valve 9, and as each piston-wing approaches an abutment or resistance-valve that cut-off valve which is in advance of said abutment or resistance-valve is closed by the cam-groove 30, and subsequently the abutment is swung to its inoperative or folded position in the cavity 19 to allow the pistonwing to pass. After the piston-wing has passed the remote end of the cavity 19 the abutment or resistance-valve is returned to its operative position by the operation of the Cain-groove 23 on the trip-arm of said abutment and immediately the cut-off valve is opened to admit steam or other motive agent between said recently-positioned abutment and lthe rear face of the piston-wing. Thus there is no direct communication at any time between the feed-ports and the exhaust-ports and only the amount of motive agent in advance of each piston-wing and in rear of the next abutment is caused to escape through the exhaust-port which is immediatelyin rear of said abutment. Therefore the boiler-pressure is not reduced bythe unnecessary escape of motive agent and a continuous pressure of the motive agent is maintained upon all of the piston-win gs, except the one which is passing an abutment. For instance, with the construction illustrated in the drawings, wherein three piston-wings and four abutments are employed, only one abutment is folded at a time, and hence the full pressure of the steam or motive agent is applied to both of the other piston-wings to maintain an operative forward pressure upon the piston throughoutits revolution. Afurtheradvantage of this construction resides in the fact that dead-cen ters are avoided in that in any position of the piston one or more piston-wings are exposed to direct pressure of motive agent admitted through the cooperating feed-ports.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that I employ a single cam-plate preferably attached to the piston-shaft and provided with a plurality of cam faces or grooves for actuating, respectively, the abutments and cut-off valves, whereby the spindles of said abutments and cut-off valves are extended in a common direction from one head of the cylinder to leave the other head thereof unobstructed for the positioning of the necessary exhaust-pipes. Also it will be seen that by channeling the wall of the cyl' inder, the outer wall of the channel thus formed being closed by an encircling shell, I am enabled to dispense with exterior feedpipes and valve mechanism, and thus attain a compactness of construction which adapts the engine particularly for use in a confined space, as upon a locomotive.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention. For instance, it will be understood that in adapting the mechanism to various uses a square or other rectangular piston-wing may be employed in order to secure that compactness of construction which may be necessary. Obviously such compactness is necessary in connection with locomotives and similar engines which must be arranged in a small compass.

Having described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. A rotary engine having its cylinder provided with a cylindrical outer wall having a IOD steam-channel in communication with which is a steam-supply pipe, opposite side walls or heads and a cylindrical inner wall revolubly fitted between the planes of said side walls or heads, piston-wings carried by said inner ,cylindrical Wall, cut-oft valves mounted in bearings in the heads or side walls, and controlling-ports by which said steam-channel is connected with the piston-Wing chamber said ports opening into cavities formed in the inner surface of the cylindrical wall, abutments having their spindles mounted in bearings in the heads or side walls adjacent to the outer cylindrical wall, and adapted to fold into said cavities of said cylindrical wall to close the ports which open thereinto, and means for communicating motion alternately to the cutoff valves and abutments, substantially as specified.

2. A rotary engine having its cylinder provided with inner and outer cylindrical Walls and side walls or heads, said inner Wall being revoluble and tted between the planes of the heads, and the outer wall being provided with a continuous steamchannel, ports connecting said steam-channel at intervals with the chamber between the inner and outer walls, and also being provided with abutment-cavities 19 with Which said ports communicate, a shaft carrying said inner cylindrical wall, piston- Wings carried bythe inner cylindrical wall and operating in the said chamber,abutments pivotally mounted to fold into said cavities,v and provided at their edges with packing- -strips, those Walls of the abutment-cavities which are remote from the pivots of the abutments being beveled for contact with the terminal packing-strips of the abutments, cutoff valves for controlling the ports in communication between the steam-channel and the piston-chamber, and means for communicating motion to the abutments and cut-off valves, substantially as specified.

3. A rotary engine having a cylinder comprising inner and outer concentric Walls and side walls or heads forming an intermediate piston-chamber, the outer wall of the cylinder being provided with a steam-channel and spaced ports communicating with the pistonchamber, a shaft carrying the inner wall of the cylinder, piston-wings carried by said in ner wall and operating in the piston-chamber, pivotal abutments mounted in the pistonchamber for extension to span the same, cutoft valves for controlling the ports of communication between the steam-channel and the piston-chamber, said cut-od valves and abutments having spindles extended in a common direction through one head or side wall of the cylinder, crank-arms terminating in pins attached respectively to said spindles, and a cam-plate 24, secured to said shaft adjacent to and parallel with one head of the cylinder, and having outer and inner cam-grooves and 23 in which the said crank-pins, respectively operate, said cam-grooves having odset portions, with the front ends of the offsets in the valve-operating groove arranged slightly in advance of the front ends of the corresponding osets in the abutment-operating groove, substantially as specified;

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' JOSEPH Il. GARNIER.

lVitnesses:

C. S. SHINDEL, ISAAC CHRIST.- 

